Food Network Musings: Oscars

Showing posts with label Oscars. Show all posts

Sunday, February 24, 2013

And The Winner Is…

My baby red onion pizzas!!! For best performance as an Oscar night snack.

Enjoy the show. I’ll post the recipe tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a funny look at memorable Oscar moments, including this one:

Sunday, March 7, 2010

And The Oscar Goes To...

This is my version of those chocolate Oscars. Pretty good, right?

My other chocolates would have been very appropriate if this had been the year of Jurassic Park. See? These happened to be the only candy molds I had in the house, but they taste as good as little gold men, I bet.

Oh, but snacks first...Little Pizzas with Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade

Enjoy the show.

Red Onion Pizzas with Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade

(makes 16 little pizzas)

Click here for printable recipe.

Pizza Dough

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup very warm water

1 envelope yeast

3 cups flour

1 tbl. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup additional warm water

1 tablespoon finely sliced red onion

For garnish:

1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)

a scant 1/2 cup sun dried tomato tapenade

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast and stir well. Let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.

In food processor, mix flour, oil and salt. Add yeast mixture and process for 30 seconds. Add another 1/2 cup warm water and process until dough forms a ball about 30 seconds. Add an additional 1/4 cup of water if necessary. Process another minute. Remove from processor and knead in to a ball for a minute or two until smooth.

Place in an oiled bowl and turn over. Cover with plastic and leave in a warm place to rise for an hour to an hour an half until doubled in volume.

Punch down dough. Cut dough in half. Put one half back in bowl and leave to raise for another half hour. Freeze the other half for another time. (Bring frozen dough to room temperature when ready to use.)

Knead red onion into dough. Cut dough into four pieces and each of those into 4 pieces. You'll have 16 pieces. Press or roll each piece into a little round, pressing the red onion pieces in well.

Place on a hot grill and grill for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until nicely browned. Set aside until ready to use.

Top with sour cream and then a spoonful of Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade.

Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade

big handful of parsley

10 kalamata olives

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

2 tsps. balsamic vinegar

2 tsps. tomato paste

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tbl. olive oil or water

Place parsley in food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients. Process until chopped finely.

Monday, February 23, 2009

And The Winner Is...

My Lemon-Lime Ice Cream...by a landslide. Not that my Barbecued Chicken Pizza and Grilled Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Sautéed Red Onions and Sour Cream weren't good, but the ice cream was fantastic AND a breeze to make.

But to the pizzas first. You can find my pizza dough recipe here.

Barbecued Pizza (makes 3 individual pizzas)

1 cup barbecue sauce
6 boneless chicken thighs
1/2 pound pizza dough
4 to 6 oz. mozzarella, sliced

Reserve 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce. Mix 3/4 cup barbecue sauce with chicken thighs. Grill, broil, bake or sauté the thighs until cooked. Let cool, cut into small pieces and set aside. If making ahead, refrigerate until ready to use.

Roll out pizza dough into 3 ovals or rounds. Spread a spoonful of reserved barbecue sauce on dough, leaving a plain border around outside. Top with chicken. Spoon a bit more reserved barbecue sauce over the chicken and then top with the mozzarella slices.

Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is nicely melted.

Smoked Salmon Pizza Rounds (makes 8 to 10 baby pizzas)

1 large red onion, sliced thinly
2 tbls. olive oil
Kosher salt
½ pound pizza dough
¾ cup sour cream
4 slices smoked salmon, cut into thin strips
1 tomato, diced
10 or so pitted Kalamata olives

Cook red onion in olive oil over medium high heat. Sprinkle with plenty of Kosher salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until onion is browned. Set aside.

Roll out dough into about 8 to 10 small 3 inch circles. Place on hot grill. Cook about 3 minutes on each side or until you have nice grill marks.

Just before serving, top each round with a generous spoonful of sour cream. Arrange smoked salmon on top and then the sautéed red onions. Sprinkle with a bit of diced tomato and top with a single pitted Kalamata olive.

Lemon-Lime Ice Cream (makes 3 cups)
Adapted from Maurice Moore-Betty's Lemon Ice Cream in The Great Cooks Cookbook

1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

Measure 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of lime juice and pour in a bowl. Stir in zests and sugar. Slowly stir in cream and milk. Pour in metal bowl and place in freezer for an hour or until the edges are frozen. Stir well and freeze for a few hours. Mixture may be frozen in ice cream machine as well.

Monday, February 25, 2008

The Morning After

A few favorite moments:

After a heartfelt acceptance speech from somebody or other, Jon Stewart coming back and saying "What an arrogant guy."

George Clooney in a tux...or anything.

At least FIVE folks slipping on the stage in the exact SAME spot near the podium. I was on the edge of my seat watching to see if anyone went down.

Marion Cotillard: "It is true. There is some angels in this city."

MY pizza.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I'm Ready

I grilled the pizzas:

I topped them:

I poured the champagne:

Wait WHAT??!! The Oscars don't start until 8:30?!!

I'm not waiting. I have to taste my pizza.

Definitely Oscar-worthy...

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Hurray For Hollywood

Maybe it’s the strike or the lousy weather, but I'm not really that excited about the Oscars this year. I will, however, still be making my most favorite Oscar snack in the whole world. Wolfgang Puck served it years ago, at one of his earliest Oscar dinners. (This is his 14th year of preparing food for the Governor’s Ball. Here are some of this year’s recipes.)

The one I love is a signature early dish from Spago, It's quite simple, although quite elegant too. I'm talking about his Grilled Pizza with Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraiche and Red Onions.

Wolfgang didn’t invent grilled pizza, but he took it to a new level. It is a brilliant idea. Especially if you're a lover of thin crust pizza, grilling it really gives a super crisp result.

This is basically the recipe I use, except that the dough is grilled, instead of cooked at a high heat in the oven. Do either, but the grilling is fun. Also, I don’t roll it out in circles. I prefer long ovals. I find it easier to hold one side and munch your way to the end.

So basically I grill the pizza dough and then the toppings go on after it comes off the grill. I add the red onion INTO the dough before grilling. Then I top the pizzas with sour cream or crème fraiche. Sometimes, I go with smoked salmon and sometimes I use a zesty tapenade.

To grill pizza dough, follow your pizza dough recipe and shape individual pizzas. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil, leaving plain a one inch border around the edges. Put on a hot grill. Leave until pizza puffs up…a minute or two. Turn over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, moving to cooler part of the grill if it’s getting too browned.

If you want to add traditional toppings like cheese and tomato sauce, add them after both sides are cooked. Put topped pizza on cooler part of the grill. Close lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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